A fraud amounting to ₹6.41 crore has been uncovered in the Mumbai Police payroll system, involving “ghost employees” who allegedly received salaries between December 2019 and September 2020. The discovery emerged during a data migration process from the old Sevarth salary portal to its new software platform.
## Phantom Workers and Missing Persons
An FIR filed by a police officer from the north regional division lists ten non-police individuals who were fraudulently included in salary rolls, receiving payments despite having no real association with the force. The names cited are Ramdas Bhogle, Sudhakar Kadam, Sarju Yadav, Bhagwat Bhosale, Gunaji Khavkar, Mahadev Haldankar, Rajendra Sonar, Uttam Thorat, Suryakant Patil, and Pandurang Kadam.
## How the Scam Was Executed
Investigation suggests collusion between ministerial clerks at various levels. These clerks allegedly manipulated attendance registers and payroll data, creating fake identities for outsiders and entering them into official records to enable salary payouts. The unauthorized salary distributions occurred during two main intervals: December 2019 to February 2020 and June to September 2020.
## Those Accused
The FIR identifies five individuals responsible for orchestrating this payroll scam:
– **Former administrative officers**: Ramkishan Goswami, Nagesh Talvadekar, and Vijaya Chavan
– **Ministerial clerks**: Head Clerk Ajay Rathod and Senior Clerk Amol Meshram
Charges filed include cheating, forgery, breach of trust, and criminal conspiracy under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.
## Disciplinary Action
Following the revelations, Vijaya Chavan and Amol Meshram have been suspended. They face allegations of fabricating Service IDs and DCPS IDs—identifiers used for processing salaries—and were involved in creating and compensating the ten fictitious ‘employees’.
To ensure accountability, both suspended officers have been barred from private employment or holding positions in other organizations. They must also submit regular declarations to claim any subsistence allowance. Movement outside the Brihanmumbai jurisdiction now requires prior official permission.
## Investigations and Systemic Concerns
Investigators are still probing into who held the bank accounts used to receive payments under the names of the ghost employees. Authorities are also trying to confirm the actual identities of those persons listed in the payroll for salaries they never should have received.
Meanwhile, the case has sparked wider scrutiny across Maharashtra. Similar payroll irregularities—though involving lesser sums—have been reported in Dhule and Latur districts. This has prompted senior officials to audit vulnerabilities in payroll systems statewide.
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This case underscores potential flaws in payroll oversight, data audits, and internal accountability within government departments. It also casts a spotlight on how undocumented employees can siphon funds from public systems when checks and balances fail. As the investigation unfolds, the Mumbai Police leadership faces pressure to strengthen financial controls and ensure transparent payroll governance.
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